Page 340 - Congress

Karnataka CM Bommai dismisses Opposition's demand for his resignation

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday dismissed the Congress demand for his resignation following the recovery of Rs 8.23 crore cash from BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa's son Prashanth Kumar M V, saying that the opposition party is left with no other job. Hitting out at former chief minister Siddaramaiah, he said there were 59 corruption cases, which could not be investigated because he had weakened the Lokayukta institution by bifurcating it and creating an anti-corruption bureau. Speaking to reporters here, he said his government has given independence to the Lokayukta which made the impartial probe possible. "The opposition has no other job other than seeking my resignation. I would like to ask Siddaramaiah whether he had resigned as chief minister when Rs two lakh was found from a minister's house," Bommai said. He also said that Siddaramaiah would have been arrested had there been a strong Lokayukta in the state. "Siddaramaiah had weakened the Lokayukta instituti

Congress alleges government granted 'monopolies' to the Adani Group

The Congress on Saturday alleged that the government has granted "monopolies" to the Adani Group, allowing it to "fleece" consumers who need to use essential infrastructure services such as airports and electricity. The opposition party also said that persistent demand for a JPC on the Adani issue was not to embarrass Prime Minister Narendra Modi but to unravel its full dimensions. Posing a set of three questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the party's "Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun" series, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the focus of the posers was on how the "monopolies granted" to the Adani Group have allowed it to "fleece" consumers who need to use essential infrastructure services like airports and electricity. The Congress is persisting with its attack on the government weeks after Adani Group stocks took a beating on the bourses after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-pric

Bribery case: Karnataka Congress to lay siege to CM Bommai's residence

BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa's son Prashanth Madal, BWSSB Chief Accountant was caught by Lokayukta which has named the Legislator as prime accused in the case

A sporting chance that can go astray

If the corruption issue doesn't claim Mr Baghel, the Congress's chances in the state are good. But it is a big "if"

Heated exchanges between AAP, Congress during Punjab governor's address

Heated exchanges took place between the ruling AAP and the opposition Congress benches after Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa asked Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to not use the phrase "my government" in his address, saying the AAP government does not "recognise" him. When the governor began his address on the first day of the budget session here, Congress leader Bajwa interrupted Purohit and said he should not use the phrase in his address. "This government does not recognise you," Bajwa told Purohit, apparently referring to a tussle between the AAP government and the Raj Bhavan. To this, the governor told Bajwa that there should be no "controversy". "Do you say I should not utter 'my government'," Purohit asked Bajwa. "This is the custom." "Ok, I will use only government, 'my government' I will not speak," said Purohit, adding that there should be no controversy. Then members from the treasury benches rose from their seats and objected to Bajwa's comments, leading to

Aggressive strategy to be adopted to corner Cong in Budget: Jai Ram Thakur

An aggressive strategy would be formulated to pin down the ruling Congress party during the upcoming Himachal Pradesh assembly budget session, leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday. Several important issues were discussed during a meeting of the BJP legislature party held here on Thursday, he said, adding the party would be in an aggressive mode in the budget session commencing March 14. The ongoing signature campaign of the BJP against the closing of health, education, revenue and other institutions opened during the previous BJP government was reviewed and discussions were also held in regard to organisational elections, Thakur said. Congress leaders are talking about the price rise but surprisingly it is the same Congress government that increased the VAT on diesel by Rs 3, he said.

Meghalaya Congress president Vincent Pala loses, NPP candidate wins

Pala was contesting from the Sutnga Saipung assembly seat. He got 14,866 votes while Shylla bagged 16,719 votes. The United Democratic Party candidate Shitlang Pale came third with 10,224 votes

Disappointing: Cong on Assembly election results in 3 northeastern states

The Congress on Thursday said the assembly election results in the northeastern states of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya were "disappointing" for it, but touted its victory in three assembly bypolls in as many states as "encouraging". Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said the party would soon assess the assembly poll results and take corrective measures to strengthen the organisation. "Our performance will be strong five years later," he said, pointing to the fact that the party fielded youth candidates in the northeastern states this time with an eye on the future. The party won just five of the all 60 seats it contested in Maghalaya and failed to open its account in Nagaland where it fielded candidates in 23 out of 60 seats. In Tripura where the Congress contested the election in alliance with the Left parties, it contested in 13 seats and bagged just three seats out of a total of 60. The BJP and its alliance partners returned to power in Tripura and ...

BJP govt suppressing voice of people in Goa by 'transfers': Congress

GPCC President Amit Patkar said that there were incidents where government employees have been transferred for raising voice against the government by their family members

BJP conspiracy to weaken India's values will not succeed: Surjewala

Any conspiracy by the BJP to weaken India's democratic values will not succeed, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said on Thursday after a Supreme Court ruling on the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners. The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners will be done by the President on the advise of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. Reacting to the verdict, Surjewala said the top court has given the judgment in wake of the BJP's attempts against democracy and the Constitution. "The decision given by the Supreme Court is very significant. BJP's conspiracy to weaken democratic values will never succeed," Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi. Congress MP Manish Tewari said on the ruling, "Article 324 should be amended to give an impartial Election Commission superintendence over internal processes of .

Votes set to be counted in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland today

The BJP, which has replaced Congress as the dominant party in the northeast, is optimistic of its prospects in the three states

MP govt presents Rs 3.14 trn budget; Cong stages walkout from Assembly

The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday presented a Rs 3.14 lakh crore state budget for 2023-24, even as the Opposition Congress staged a walkout from the Assembly on the issue of hike in the LPG cylinder price. Congress members including former ministers Tarun Bhanot, Vijay Laxmi Sadho and Jitu Patwari created ruckus in the House over the LPG price hike issue the moment state Finance Minister Jagdish Devda started reading out the budget proposals. Later, the Congress members led by former chief minister Kamal Nath staged a walkout from the House. "The central government has increased the price of an LPG cylinder by Rs 50, Rs 300 on commercial cylinder, causing lot of hardships to the people," Bhanot told reporters. He demanded that like the Rajasthan government, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Madhya Pradesh also provide LPG cylinders at Rs 500 each (to people below poverty line). Earlier in the morning, Congress members staged a protest in front of the statue of ..

Congress endgame

Plenary weakens prospects of a united front

Housing 'scam' probe rocks Kerala Assembly, Cong claims BJP-Left link

Opposition members raised a ruckus over the 'Life Mission' case in the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been probing alleged violations of Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) the flagship scheme of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state.Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, said the ruling party was being "intolerant" (in the wake of revelations in the ongoing ED probe in 'Life Mission' case), as he also lashed out at the LDF over 'evidence' connecting the Chief Minister's Office to the case.Later, addressing mediapersons on Tuesday, Satheesan invoked a speech by Congress leader and MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan saying that the government was trying deflect the charges and concerns that he raised in the "Life Mission scam case".The Congress leader also underlined the arrest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former principal secretary, M Sivasankaran, .

Rajasthan Congress slams Centre over hike in price of LPG cylinder

The Congress in Rajasthan on Wednesday hit out at the Centre over the increase in LGP cylinder prices, accusing the government of working against the interest of the common man ever since it came to power. Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder. Non-subsidised LPG price was hiked to Rs 1,103 per 14.2-kg cylinder - the first increase since July 2022, an oil company price notification said. The increase in LPG gas cylinders is another blow to the common people who are already suffering due to high inflation in Modi's rule, PCC spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said. Inflation is skyrocketing under the Modi rule and people are suffering. By increasing the rate of LPG cylinders, the government has once again proved that it has nothing to do with the interest of the common man, he charged. Chaturvedi said the state government had announced in the budget that it would provide cylinders at a subsidised rate of Rs 500 to the poor in order to minimise the impact of

Congress' Salman Khurshid slams Centre over BBC documentary on PM Modi

Responding to the recent BBC docuseries on Prime Minister Modi, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that restricting the documentary from being shown to the public reflects cowardness

Sisodia held in open and shut corruption case, arrest Kejriwal too: Cong

The Congress on Tuesday said AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been arrested in an "open and shut case of corruption" and that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should also be arrested for his alleged involvement in the excise policy case. The two leaders are "deeply involved in corruption" and should be dealt with accordingly, Congress leader Ajay Maken said. Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. "This is an open and shut case of corruption and a big scam has taken place in Delhi, and it should be viewed accordingly," Maken said. He said Kejriwal should also be arrested in the case. "It has now been established in one of the charge sheets and one of the accused liquor barons has said he was made to speak to Kejriwal on Facetime," he added. The Kejriwal government had set up a committee to recommend changes in the ex

PM Modi targets Congress in Karnataka, inaugurates Shivamogga airport

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought to take the fight with the Congress head-on in election-bound Karnataka, accusing the party of "insulting" its President Mallikarjun Khage, who hails from the state, even as he stressed on the BJP's development agenda. With about two months to go for polls in Karnataka, Modi used the occasion of a public meeting at Belagavi to hit out at the Congress as he targeted "dynastic parties", comments which are also seen to be targeted at former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's JD(S), besides the Kharge-led party. Earlier on Monday, Modi inaugurated the Shivamogga airport in another public meeting, where he heaped praise on Karnataka BJP strongman and four-time Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who celebrated his 80th birthday today. "Hawai chappal-wearing (slippers) common citizens should be able to travel in Hawai Jahaj (aircraft). I am seeing it happening," the Prime Minister said as he highlighted that India's aviation market is growing ...

SC extends interim bail of Congress leader Pawan Khera till March 3

The Supreme Court on Monday extended till March 3 the interim bail granted to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case related to his alleged objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Assam Police had last week arrested Khera in the case. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Assam, that the state police wanted to file its reply. Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, also said that she will also be filing the response in the matter. The bench took note of the submissions and fixed Khera's plea for hearing on March 3 making it clear that the interim bail, granted to him on February 23, will remain in force till then. Khera was arrested at the Delhi airport after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur in connection with his alleged remarks against Modi, made at a press conference on February 17 at Mumbai. He was later granted bail

Give change a chance: Mallikarjun Kharge to Meghalaya, Nagaland voters

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday urged the people of Meghalaya and Nagaland to give change a chance as polling in the two northeast states was underway. "People of Meghalaya and Nagaland are looking towards progressive, welfare-oriented governments," Kharge said in a tweet. "Welcome our first time voters to participate in this democratic process for a better future. Urge our sisters and brothers of Meghalaya and Nagaland to give change a chance," he said. Polling began in 59 of 60 assembly constituencies in Meghalaya at 7 am on Monday with voters set to seal the electoral fate of 369 candidates. Voting for the Nagaland Assembly polls also began at 7 am, with electors set to decide the electoral fate of 183 candidates.